This invention relates to carburetors for internal combustion engines and more particularly to a carburetor having more complete vaporization of the fuel and mixing of the fuel with air so as to provide more efficient and complete combustion than prior art caburetors.
It is well known that unvaporized fuel does not completely mix with air and does not result in complete combustion when delivered to the combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine. In most carburetor systems the liquid fuel, e.g., gasoline, is atomized into the air stream to produce a mixture of air and a fine fuel mist or minute droplets of liquid fuel. The result is that combustion in engines using such systems is incomplete and the engines typically are inefficient and exhaust substantial pollutants.
Much effort has been expended in the prior art to develop a carburetor system having more complete vaporization of the fuel and mixing of the fuel with air. Some attempts have been made to provide more finely atomized fuel while others have pre-heated the fuel to vaporize it. One of the problems encountered with these attempts is that gasoline is a petroleum based mixture comprising a number of highly volatile and less volatile hydrocarbon components and additives. The lighter higher volatile components vaporize readily when atomized while the heavier components require an input of more kinetic energy to obtain sufficient molecular agitation for vaporization. Various turbulence producing constructions have been proposed for producing such agitation. In certain of the prior art the fuel is heated prior to entry into the intake manifold. For example, in Walcker U.S. Pat. No. 3,872,191 fuel is sprayed onto a heated screen through which air is directed for mixing with the fuel which is vaporized and the mixture is subsequently passed to a turbulence producing chamber. The heavier non-volatile liquid components are collected and recycled. However, the recycling of the heavy liquids eventually will result in a build-up of a heavy viscous residue and the longer the engine runs the greater will be the residue. In Silva, Jr. U.S. Pat. No. 4,412,521 air is bubbled and percolated through the fuel in a vaporizer to pick up fuel and is thereafter heated and mixed with additional air while unmixed liquid particles of fuel are returned to the vaporizing chamber. This unmixed heavy liquid is recycled and will continue to build-up until a highly viscous residue will result. In Darvial, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,448,175 heating of the vaporized fuel and air occurs while the heavier liquid components of the fuel are collected in a reservoir. In none of the known prior art has the heavy components of the fuel been vaporized to the point such as to provide for complete combustion of the fuel.